EP0654935A1 - Radiographische, medizinische oder andere Schwartzweissbildvervielfältigung durch thermisches, digitales Halbtonlaserdrucken - Google Patents

Radiographische, medizinische oder andere Schwartzweissbildvervielfältigung durch thermisches, digitales Halbtonlaserdrucken Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0654935A1
EP0654935A1 EP94420308A EP94420308A EP0654935A1 EP 0654935 A1 EP0654935 A1 EP 0654935A1 EP 94420308 A EP94420308 A EP 94420308A EP 94420308 A EP94420308 A EP 94420308A EP 0654935 A1 EP0654935 A1 EP 0654935A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
image signal
digital halftone
black
duplicating
media
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP94420308A
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English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0654935B1 (de
Inventor
Anthony Richard C/O Eastman Kodak Comp. Lubinsky
Richard N. C/O Eastman Kodak Company Blazey
William C/O Eastman Kodak Company Mey
Charles David C/O Eastman Kodak Company Deboer
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Eastman Kodak Co
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Eastman Kodak Co
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Publication date
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Publication of EP0654935A1 publication Critical patent/EP0654935A1/de
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Publication of EP0654935B1 publication Critical patent/EP0654935B1/de
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Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/26—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used
    • B41M5/40—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used characterised by the base backcoat, intermediate, or covering layers, e.g. for thermal transfer dye-donor or dye-receiver sheets; Heat, radiation filtering or absorbing means or layers; combined with other image registration layers or compositions; Special originals for reproduction by thermography
    • B41M5/48—Thermography ; Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used characterised by the base backcoat, intermediate, or covering layers, e.g. for thermal transfer dye-donor or dye-receiver sheets; Heat, radiation filtering or absorbing means or layers; combined with other image registration layers or compositions; Special originals for reproduction by thermography combined with other image registration layers or compositions; Special originals for reproduction by thermography
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41M—PRINTING, DUPLICATING, MARKING, OR COPYING PROCESSES; COLOUR PRINTING
    • B41M5/00—Duplicating or marking methods; Sheet materials for use therein
    • B41M5/24—Ablative recording, e.g. by burning marks; Spark recording
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
    • H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
    • H04N1/00249—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a photographic apparatus, e.g. a photographic printer or a projector
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
    • H04N1/00127—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
    • H04N1/00249—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a photographic apparatus, e.g. a photographic printer or a projector
    • H04N1/00265—Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture with a photographic apparatus, e.g. a photographic printer or a projector with a photographic printing apparatus
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
    • H04N1/23—Reproducing arrangements

Definitions

  • This invention relates, in general, to the duplication of black and white images and, more particularly, to the duplication of radiographic, medical or other high quality black and white images using laser thermal digital halftone printing.
  • a body part of a patient is exposed to x-rays to produce a latent x-ray image in film.
  • the exposed film is processed and ready for viewing by a radiologist or other medical made diagnostician.
  • the image is acquired, digitized, and stored on a magnetic or optical storage medium (disk, tape).
  • a magnetic or optical storage medium disk, tape
  • Such an image may be printed, for example, on a laser film printer and the film developed in a film processor. Multiple duplicates can be made by repeating the process. In doing so, however, one is limited by the relatively slow throughput time of the laser film printer/processor.
  • Laser thermal recording of images by means of analog ablation and/or evaporation techniques are known in the production of optical records and the like. ( See , for example, US-A-4,000,492; US-A-4,023,185; and US-A-4,097,895.)
  • the ablated record can then be used to produce duplicates by optical contact printing (See US-A-4,980,262), or by impression contact printing (See US-A-4,285,056).
  • a method for duplicating continuous tone black and white images comprising the steps of: providing a continuous tone black and white image signal including a matrix of pixels; screening said black and white image signal with a digital halftone screener, such that each pixel of said image signal is represented by a predetermined matrix of micro-pixels, so that to produce a digital halftone image signal corresponding to said continuous tone black and white image signal; creating a master by printing said digital halftone image onto a dye coated medium by means of digital halftone laser thermal dye ablation recording; and producing a duplicate of said master by contact printing onto a duplicating medium.
  • apparatus for duplicating continuous tone black and white images comprising: a source of a continuous tone black and white image including a matrix of pixels; a screener for screening said black and white image signal with a digital halftone screen, such that each pixel of said image signal is represented by a predetermined matrix of micro-pixels, so that to produce a digital halftone image signal corresponding to said continuous tone black and white image signal; a printer for creating a master by printing said digital halftone image onto a dye coated medium by means of digital halftone laser thermal recording; and a duplicator for producing a duplicate of said master by contact printing onto a duplicating medium.
  • a digital halftone laser thermal printer/duplicator 10 includes a digital halftone laser thermal printer 12 and a duplicator 14.
  • Printer 12 receives continuous tone black and white image signals from a source or sources 16 of such image signals.
  • Sources 16 are medical imaging sources, such as diagnostic imaging modalities [for example, CT (Computerized Tomography) scanner 18, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanner 20, ultrasound scanner (US) 22], a storage phosphor reader 24 (such as the Kodak Ektascan Storage Phosphor Reader, supplied by the Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York), and a film digitizer 26 (such as a radiographic film digitizer).
  • Sources 16 produce a continuous tone, black and white image signal.
  • the image signal is represented as a matrix of picture elements or pixels (for example, 512 x 512), each pixel having a continuous tone gray level of a predetermined number of bits (for example, an 8 bit image has levels from 0-255).
  • Printer 12 includes an image buffer 28 for storing one or more digital images from source(s) 16.
  • the printer 12 includes a digital halftone screener 30 for converting each pixel of the continuous tone image into a halftone representation.
  • Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the halftone screening process.
  • the image from the digital image source is composed of a matrix of pixels having a gray level.
  • Each pixel is processed by the halftone screen to convert the gray level pixel into a macrodot, having an area which is a function of the gray level.
  • the macrodot is shown as center-weighted and is subdivided into a predetermined matrix of micro-pixels (for example, 32 x 32). In one case, each one of the micro-pixels has one of two values, 1 or 0.
  • each one of the micro-pixels has one of three or more values.
  • Each successive continuous tone gray level is represented by a particular pattern of black micro-pixels (halftone dots), with increasing shades of gray being rendered by increasing relative numbers, or relative area coverage, of black dots.
  • a set of micropixel patterns is called a "font”
  • a specific subset of micropixels is called a "font slice”.
  • An exemplary font slice is illustrated on the right-hand side of Figure 4. Suitable digital halftone screening techniques are disclosed in US-A-4,918,622 and US-A-4,977,458.
  • printer 12 prints the pattern of black and white micropixels representing each pixel of the black and white image by means of a laser dye ablation thermal imaging technique.
  • the image is printed in a raster pattern on the dye ablation media by scanning the width of the media in a line scan and scanning the length of the media in a page scan perpendicular to the line scan.
  • printer 12 includes a rotatable drum 32 about which is wrapped a sheet 34 coated with an ablative dye.
  • the ablative dye can be black or any other color dye appropriate for the duplicating technique.
  • drum 32 rotates, it moves sheet 34 in a page scan direction.
  • Line scan is effected as follows:
  • the micropixel black or white signal value is applied to laser driver 36 which drives one or more diode lasers 38 (such as infrared diode lasers which emit light in the range of 780nm.-880nm.).
  • Lasers 38 produce laser beams of light which are transmitted by optical fibers 40 to be focused by lens assembly 42 onto sheet 34.
  • Lens assembly 42 is mounted on a carriage 44.
  • Carriage 44 is driven by screw drive 46 laterally across sheet 34 held on drum 32.
  • page scan is accomplished by rotating drum 32 one line at a time until the entire halftone image has been printed.
  • System controller 48 having operator input 50, controls the operation of printer 12.
  • System controller 48 may, for example, be a microprocessor controller.
  • An exemplary laser imaging system is disclosed in commonly-assigned US-A-5,212,500.
  • the media can be mounted on a translation mechanism which moves the media in a page direction while one or more laser beams are scanned across the media in a line scan.
  • the laser beam scanner can be an oscillating mirror, a rotating polygon mirror, or a rotating hologon. Sources of light other than a laser may be used.
  • duplicator 14 can be any high quality duplicating apparatus.
  • duplicator 14 can be a contact type photographic duplicator in which a high contrast silver halide duplicating film 52 in contact with master sheet 34 is supported on table 54.
  • Light from light source 56 is focused by lens 58 through sheet 34 to expose duplicating film 52.
  • the exposed duplicate is then processed by well-known film processing techniques.
  • Processor 64 develops the latent image and produces a final print.
  • master sheet 34 is transported automatically between printer 12 and duplicator 14 by suitable transport means such as transport rollers 60.
  • transport rollers 60 the duplicate copy 52 can be transported by transport rollers 62 from duplicator 14 to processor 64.
  • Duplicator 14 can also be a contact type electrophotographic duplicator in which electrophotographic media, such as photoconductive media in contact with master sheet 34 is exposed to light to produce a latent electrostatic image on the duplicate photoconductive media.
  • electrophotographic media such as photoconductive media in contact with master sheet 34
  • the latent electrostatic image on the duplicate photoconductive media can be toned and fixed directly (see Figure 5).
  • the toned image can be transferred to a receiver to which it is fixed (see Figure 6).
  • the thermal recording master 70 includes a support layer 72 of polyester, a gel sub barrier layer 74, and a black dye ablation layer 76.
  • Barrier layer 74 keeps dye from migrating into support layer 72.
  • Black dye ablation layer 76 includes a black ablative dye in a suitable binder.
  • the black dye is a neutral combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow image dyes (such as those disclosed in US-A-4,973,572) together with an infrared absorbing dye.
  • the infrared dye absorbs the infrared light from the diode laser and converts it to heat to locally evaporate the dye layer.
  • the laser thermal dye ablation recording process is illustrated in Figure 3.
  • the micropixel electrical signal inputs to diode laser(s) 38 are converted to light.
  • the input variable is the modulated electrical current fed to each laser diode 38 as a function of time.
  • the output variable is the light intensity of the diode(s) at the image plane (sheet 34) as a function of position and time.
  • the laser (for example, infrared) light is absorbed in the black dye layer 76 (by the IR absorbing dye) and converted to heat.
  • exposure is through the dye layer side of the film so that most of the light is absorbed.
  • the heat flows throughout the exposed subpixel area setting up a temperature distribution. For a flat field exposure, a steady state condition is reached after a predetermined period of time.
  • the heated dye ablates to leave a subpixel area without dye or a clear area. If the subpixel area is not exposed to laser light and subsequent heating, the subpixel area is left intact (that is, a black area).
  • the image which is left after the dye has been evaporated is the dye that remains after the film cools to ambient temperature.
  • the pattern remaining is the visual representation of the image supplied by image source 16 to printer 12.
  • the dye which is ablated off the surface of the film needs to be removed or it may end up being deposited back onto the film or onto the printer lens.
  • a vacuum draws off the evaporated dye vapor where it is trapped in an air filter.
  • the evaporated dye vapor can be recycled.
  • a dye sheet was produced including a neutral combination of image dyes, (as described above) together with an IR absorbing dye, in a binder which was coated to an optical density of 3.6, onto a clear 0.004 inch thick polyester substrate.
  • An infrared diode laser emitting laser light at a wavelength of 820 nanometers was used to expose the dye sheet.
  • An ultrasound halftone image was used to print two halftone originals on the referenced dye coated film by the laser thermal dye ablation process described above. This was then used as an original, or master, and duplicate copies were then made by contact printing onto high-contrast graphic arts-type photographic film (KODAK Ultratek UGF film supplied by Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester, New York). The duplicate copies thus produced were clear, sharp, high-contrast, very nearly perfect duplicates of the original ultrasound image.
  • CT Computerized Tomography
  • Ultrasound abdomen scan data was used to print a halftone original by the laser thermal dye ablation process described above.
  • the halftone original was a negative.
  • Contact exposures were made onto a dye sensitized, homogeneous photoconductive film which was positively charged.
  • Images were made using neg/pos development and small particle (3 microns) toner (having 12% carbon) to obtain positive duplicates of the ultrasound image.
  • the duplicates were high-contrast reproductions, and the maximum density obtained was high, about 2.85.
  • the exposure speed of the photographic or electrophotographic film used for duplicating is vastly higher than that of the typical laser thermal film requiring an exposure for imaging on the order of 1-100 ergs per square cm., as opposed to 1,000,000 ergs per square cm. in the typical thermal case.
  • the reproductions may be made rapidly, with a very low exposure required.
  • the developed toner layer may be transferred to another receiver by, for example, overcoat transfer from a single use photoconductor, electrostatic transfer, or thermal transfer.
  • duplicate copies may be made on any desirable receiver sheet such as a reflective receiver.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Thermal Transfer Or Thermal Recording In General (AREA)
  • Electronic Switches (AREA)
  • Preparing Plates And Mask In Photomechanical Process (AREA)
  • Image Processing (AREA)
  • Laser Beam Printer (AREA)
EP94420308A 1993-11-19 1994-11-09 Radiographische, medizinische oder andere Schwarzweissbildvervielfältigung durch thermisches, digitales Halbtonlaserdrucken Expired - Lifetime EP0654935B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US154837 1988-02-10
US08/154,837 US5477344A (en) 1993-11-19 1993-11-19 Duplicating radiographic, medical or other black and white images using laser thermal digital halftone printing

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0654935A1 true EP0654935A1 (de) 1995-05-24
EP0654935B1 EP0654935B1 (de) 1999-01-27

Family

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Family Applications (1)

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EP94420308A Expired - Lifetime EP0654935B1 (de) 1993-11-19 1994-11-09 Radiographische, medizinische oder andere Schwarzweissbildvervielfältigung durch thermisches, digitales Halbtonlaserdrucken

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US5477344A (de)
EP (1) EP0654935B1 (de)
JP (1) JPH07219213A (de)
DE (1) DE69416260T2 (de)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7052117B2 (en) 2002-07-03 2006-05-30 Dimatix, Inc. Printhead having a thin pre-fired piezoelectric layer
US7281778B2 (en) 2004-03-15 2007-10-16 Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc. High frequency droplet ejection device and method
US8491076B2 (en) 2004-03-15 2013-07-23 Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc. Fluid droplet ejection devices and methods
KR20070087223A (ko) 2004-12-30 2007-08-27 후지필름 디마틱스, 인크. 잉크 분사 프린팅
US7988247B2 (en) 2007-01-11 2011-08-02 Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc. Ejection of drops having variable drop size from an ink jet printer

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2156624A (en) * 1984-02-15 1985-10-09 Dainippon Screen Mfg A scanning image reproduction system including a plurality of modulated laser beams
US4875074A (en) * 1987-04-01 1989-10-17 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Image recording apparatus
US4980262A (en) * 1976-08-16 1990-12-25 Eastman Kodak Company Producing a replicate video disc by a method of photographic contact printing
EP0564877A1 (de) * 1992-04-10 1993-10-13 Eastman Kodak Company Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Halbtonwiedergabe von Röntgenbildern in kontinuierlichen Tönen

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US3768906A (en) * 1971-12-27 1973-10-30 Producers Service Corp Method and apparatus for printing and processing thermal film
US4000492A (en) * 1974-04-04 1976-12-28 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated Metal film recording media for laser writing
US4097895A (en) * 1976-03-19 1978-06-27 Rca Corporation Multilayer optical record
US4023185A (en) * 1976-03-19 1977-05-10 Rca Corporation Ablative optical recording medium
US4716470A (en) * 1976-08-27 1987-12-29 Levine Alfred B Method for previewing undeveloped film
US4285056A (en) * 1979-10-17 1981-08-18 Rca Corporation Replicable optical recording medium
US5289270A (en) * 1986-10-28 1994-02-22 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Image processing apparatus for performing density conversion
US4973572A (en) * 1987-12-21 1990-11-27 Eastman Kodak Company Infrared absorbing cyanine dyes for dye-donor element used in laser-induced thermal dye transfer
JPH01216850A (ja) * 1988-02-25 1989-08-30 Minolta Camera Co Ltd 作像装置
JPH01222963A (ja) * 1988-03-01 1989-09-06 Dainippon Screen Mfg Co Ltd 網点画像作成装置
US4977458A (en) * 1988-11-16 1990-12-11 Eastman Kodak Company Apparatus for addressing a font to suppress Moire patterns occurring thereby and a method for use therein
US4918622A (en) * 1988-11-16 1990-04-17 Eastman Kodak Company Electronic graphic arts screener
JPH02162871A (ja) * 1988-12-15 1990-06-22 Dainippon Screen Mfg Co Ltd 網点形成方法
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Patent Citations (4)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4980262A (en) * 1976-08-16 1990-12-25 Eastman Kodak Company Producing a replicate video disc by a method of photographic contact printing
GB2156624A (en) * 1984-02-15 1985-10-09 Dainippon Screen Mfg A scanning image reproduction system including a plurality of modulated laser beams
US4875074A (en) * 1987-04-01 1989-10-17 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Image recording apparatus
EP0564877A1 (de) * 1992-04-10 1993-10-13 Eastman Kodak Company Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Halbtonwiedergabe von Röntgenbildern in kontinuierlichen Tönen

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE69416260T2 (de) 1999-08-05
EP0654935B1 (de) 1999-01-27
US5477344A (en) 1995-12-19
DE69416260D1 (de) 1999-03-11
JPH07219213A (ja) 1995-08-18

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